White House: Yes, the president blocks critics on Twitter

Yes, the president does block critics on Twitter. That’s what the latest legal filing related to President Trump’s Twitter activities has revealed. If you’ll recall, seven individuals filed a lawsuit claiming Trump is violating the First Amendment by barring their access to his account. Now, the Knight First Amendment Institute, a Columbia University group helping the plaintiffs, has announced that both sides have filed a formal legal acknowledgement in which they agree upon a set of facts. In that filing, the White House said it will not contest the plaintiffs’ claims.

The document has even listed some of the tweets that got the plaintiffs blocked. For instance, one of the plaintiffs replied “To be fair you didn’t win the WH: Russia won it for you” to the president’s tweet that said “Sorry folks, but if I would have relied on the Fake News of CNN, NBC, ABC, CBS washpost or nytimes, I would have had ZERO chance winning WH.” It has also revealed that White House Social Media Director Dan Scavino sometimes tweets on the president’s behalf.

The administration argues that the @RealDonaldTrump is a personal account, so the plaintiffs can’t invoke their First Amendment right. Since Trump used it in the past to announce government news and policy decisions, though, the group believes the administration’s decision not to contest the lawsuit will help its case. Knight Institute executive director Jameel Jaffer explained that “The White House’s concessions here amount to an acknowledgment that the president and his aides have engaged in viewpoint discrimination in violation of the First Amendment.”

Source: Knight First Amendment Institute

James Cameron-led ‘Terminator’ sequel will hit theaters July 2019

1984 marked the year that James Cameron, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Linda Hamilton became superstars with The Terminator. Thirty-three years later, all three of them are back for more in a sequel that Cameron has said will take place directly afterTerminator 2: Judgement Day, skipping all the sequels that have come out since then. The untitled sequel, with Deadpool‘s Tim Miller as director, is part of a planned trilogy and a July 26th, 2019 release.

According to an interview with Cameron and Miller over at The Hollywood Reporter, the team hopes to bring the Terminator series back to its roots, with a modern sensibility based on our collective anxiety around artificial intelligence. “What was science fiction in the ’80s is now imminent,” Cameron told THR. “It’s coming over the horizon at us… The first two Terminator films that I did dealt with the angst around that and how we reconcile it for ourselves in a fantasy context. So I got excited about the idea of finding a story that made sense for now.”

Miller agrees. “The [first] films are more relevant today than they were when he made them,” he said during the interview. “A lot of it seems like prognostication because it’s coming to be — the world we live in right now.”

Still, it will be fascinating to see how the new movie(s) work with an aging cast. The most recent film in the franchise, Terminator: Genisys, used CGI-created Schwarzenegger as a much younger killer robot. Casting Linda Hamilton back in her original role is also a statement in itself. “There are certainly plenty of 50-, 60-, 70-something guys out there that just keep cranking along doing action movies and killing bad guys left and right,” Cameron told THR. “But there isn’t an example of that for women, and I think there should be.”

Source: Variety

OpenTable’s app now lets you send reservations through iMessage with iOS 11

Why it matters to you

OpenTable released a new feature on its app to help ease the stress of making dinner plans with friends and family.

With the official release of iOS 11 last week, also comes updates on a variety of apps. On Wednesday, September 27, OpenTable announced a new way for diners to discover and share restaurants using its app for the iPhone and iPad. Users are now able to share restaurant and reservation information through iMessage across Apple devices using its new Invite Guests feature.

With the OpenTable app, you can not only make reservations, but you can also view menus, reviews, and photos. It also allows you to earn reward points to put toward your next meal. Since deciding on a place to eat is never an easy task, the app separates restaurants into categories like “New and Hot” or “Near Me Now” for quicker discovery. For those who already know what type of food they’re craving, you can also search based on the cuisine.

Within the updated version of OpenTable, it’s now easier to share dining plans among friends and family. With the new Invite Guests feature, you can instead send your reservations via iMessage — eliminating the hassle of having to wait for RSVPs. All you have to do is tap the “Invite Guests” button when on the reservation confirmation screen and you will be able to invite anyone you like.On the other end, the recipient will see an invite with all the information such as location, date, time, and how many people the reservation is scheduled for. They woll then be able to accept or decline within iMessage and can also see who else is attending.

The app also utilizes the drag-and-drop capabilities introduced within iOS 11. Instead of having to copy and paste, you can simply drag and drop content instead. Since the feature is more iPad focused, you are more restricted on where you can drag and drop on the iPhone.

With OpenTable on the iPad, you can use the iOS 11 feature to drag and drop reservations into Apple Maps and iCal, among others. On the iPhone, you will see a section at the top that allows you drag and drop via iMessage after you complete your reservation.

For those who have already installed iOS 11, OpenTable’s new feature is currently available to use. You can download for free in the App Store or through OpenTable’s website.

Mark Zuckerberg explains post-election comments he now ‘regrets’

Last November, Mark Zuckerberg said, “Personally, I think the idea that fake news on Facebook, of which it’s a very small amount of the content, influenced the election in any way is a pretty crazy idea.” Nearly a year later, and after evidence has been produced showing various Russian campaigns attempting to mislead voters last year, revelations that President Obama warned Zuckerberg about the issue and news that Facebook axed ‘tens of thousands of accounts’ ahead of the German election, he’s changed his tune.

Zuck responded to a charge by President Trump that “Facebook was always anti-Trump” by claiming his company hopes to give a voice to all people. Despite highlighting all the things Facebook did to get out the vote he retreated from his earlier stance, now saying:

After the election, I made a comment that I thought the idea misinformation on Facebook changed the outcome of the election was a crazy idea. Calling that crazy was dismissive and I regret it. This is too important an issue to be dismissive. But the data we have has always shown that our broader impact — from giving people a voice to enabling candidates to communicate directly to helping millions of people vote — played a far bigger role in this election.

We will continue to work to build a community for all people. We will do our part to defend against nation states attempting to spread misinformation and subvert elections. We’ll keep working to ensure the integrity of free and fair elections around the world, and to ensure our community is a platform for all ideas and force for good in democracy.

Source: Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook)

Every new Echo announced today — and a Fire TV

If you hadn’t noticed, Amazon introduced a lot of devices at its Alexa-themed event — so many that keeping tabs on them all could be a challenge in itself. Thankfully, you don’t have to sweat it. We’ve rounded up all the new Alexa-powered hardware in one place, ranging from the next generation of the standard Echo speaker to the Fire TV and the cute-as-a-button Echo Spot. If you’ve been thinking of snagging Amazon gear going into the holidays, you’ll hopefully have a better sense of what’s on offer.

Gogoro’s electric scooter-sharing program is coming to Japan

After the success of its urban electric scooter-sharing pilot program in Taiwan back in 2015, Gogoro planned expansions into other cities, making its way to Berlin last year and Paris this summer. Next on its list: Japan. Gogoro is partnering with business conglomerate Sumitomo to launch its service under the new brand ‘GoShare’ there later this year.

The endeavor will start with a pilot program on the southern Japanese island of Ishigaki and then expand to other cities and markets in 2018. It hinges on the Gogoro Energy Network, a series of charging stations (potentially their new solar-powered ones) for users to drop off their scooter’s depleted batteries (two at a time) to swap in new ones. Per the press release, GoShare seems to be both an efficient transit solution and a way to saturate Japan with electric vehicles: The release even mentions potentially using Gogoro’s batteries and stations to power “compact four-wheel vehicles in the future.”

“I am excited for Sumitomo Corporation to start collaborating with a technology innovator like Gogoro to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles,” Masaki Nakajima, executive officer and general manager, Automotive Division, No.1, Sumitomo Corporation, said in the press release. “The opportunity to expand Gogoro’s smart energy system for vehicles and other applications is significant.”

The release didn’t note how many scooters would be coming to Japan, nor how quickly it would expand to other areas, and didn’t give a launch date. But folks looking for quick, nimble personal transport around the island nation’s metropolitan areas might look forward to GoShare — and whatever other vehicles might harness its battery-swapping stations in the future.

Source: Ride GoShare

Delta to Offer Free In-Flight Access to iMessage, WhatsApp, and Facebook Messenger

Delta this week announced plans to offer free access to mobile messaging services on its flights starting in October.

Delta will allow customers to use iMessage, WhatsApp, and Facebook Messenger to communicate with family and friends while in flight. Though Delta will let customers send text-based messages that include words and emoji, photo and video files are not supported.

Free messaging will be available on all Delta flights that feature Gogo Wi-Fi capabilities, which includes all aircraft with two or more cabins. Delta customers will be able to access the messaging services through the Delta Wi-Fi portal page.

“We know many of Delta’s customers want or need to stay connected in the air and on the ground, which is why we’re investing in an easy, free way to send and receive messages inflight through some of the most popular global platforms,” said Tim Mapes, Delta’s Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer. “Coupled with our investments in seat-back screens, free entertainment and High-Speed Wi-Fi, free messaging is one more way customers can choose how to make the most of their time on Delta flights.”

Delta plans to start offering the free messaging services on Sunday, October 1.

Tag: Delta Airlines
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Faster and even more minimalist, Firefox Quantum makes Chrome look old

Firefox has been playing catch-up ever since Google’s Chrome captured the desktop and mobile markets with its blend of functionality and speed. Now, Mozilla is aiming to leapfrog its competitor with Firefox Quantum, and update to the bones of Firefox that focuses on how browsers will work with future devices. We went hands-on with Quantum to see if Google has reason to worry.

Octo-men, beavers and more

One of the first things you might notice when you fire up Firefox Quantum is the new logo. It’s livelier than it used to be, a bit more colorful, and a lot more modern, like the browser itself.

Quantum feels like a modern browser should.

This is a slick and modern-looking browser, not the old-school Firefox you might be accustomed to. The new UI and design language even puts Chrome’s brand of minimalism to shame — by comparison, Chrome looks dated.

The new design is the result of behind-the-scenes labors known as the Photon Project, a research initiative dedicated to digging deep into what people expect from their browsers. It worked. Quantum feels like a modern browser should. Tabs are squared, animations are glassy-smooth, and all the settings and preferences are right where they should be.

Thanks to Project Photon, Firefox Quantum feels a bit more intuitive than other browsers. Even if you haven’t used Firefox for years, jumping into Quantum feels just familiar enough that you know where everything is, but different enough that you’ll find yourself pleasantly surprised by little design flourishes here and there.

For instance, check out the adorable animal above. The new UI employs cartoon octopoids, and other anthropomorphized animal, of equal or greater cuteness. What other browser can claim that?

You’ll find some quality of life changes here, too. With Pocket fully integrated into the browser, you don’t need to set up an external add-on to save pages to read for later. This feature is one shared by Microsoft Edge, in recent updates. Menus are easier to navigate, and the search bar offers helpful suggestions, without getting in your way or digging deep into your personal data.

A Game of Cores

Web browsing, and its perceived speed, is bottlenecked by three factors — your internet connection, your computer, and your browser. The Mozilla Corporation can’t roll out gigabit fiber to everyone’s doorstep any more than it can buy everyone a new computer every year, but it can make sure Firefox leverages every possible advantage.

To do that, Firefox Quantum is the first web browser that actively taps into the power of your computer’s multi-core processor. Most browsers, like Chrome, aren’t coded with attention to multi-core chips. Given the speed of modern multi-core processors, that’s not much of a hindrance — but it is a hindrance. There’s unused power lying idle.

Firefox Quantum aims to tap into those extra cores by putting them to work. This smart resource allocation means Firefox Quantum is technically the quickest browser on the market, depending on your benchmark.

For instance, on the Kraken 1.1 JavaScript test, Chrome 61 finished the test in 1097.7 milliseconds, and Firefox Quantum finished the same test in 933.8 milliseconds.

Beating Chrome on speed tests is great for advertising, but shaving a few milliseconds off of how long it takes to load up Reddit isn’t that important, and Mozilla knows that. They’re playing the long game now, building a browser that will perform great today, yet also scales with the speed of future hardware.

Rather than kicking out a browser that runs better by shutting out all other system processes, Firefox Quantum runs faster by using resources other applications don’t take advantage of. Because of Quantum’s careful allocation of resources, it also typically uses less of your RAM than the competition — this is the resource browsers like Chrome rely on heavily for their speed.

This innovation, paired with the ubiquity of multi-core processors, means Firefox Quantum isn’t just faster today. It’s likely to maintain speed over time, without having to horde your PC’s resources.

Multi-core processors are already common, and as new processors like AMD’s Ryzen show, they’re going to become even more common, and reach even higher core counts, at lower and lower prices. By rebuilding the engine purring away at the heart of Firefox, Mozilla clearly hopes to take advantage of that. What use is an 8-core processor if you’re only using one core for web browsing?

Should you jump aboard the good ship Quantum?

Aside from cute cartoons and a sharp UI, Firefox Quantum is — at its heart — still Firefox. That means you’re never going to have quite the same level of Google integration you get from Chrome, though you can import your Chrome settings and bookmarks flawlessly.

We think Firefox Quantum is worth a look if you’re a little tired of Chrome, Edge, or Safari. Just don’t expect an earth-shattering new browsing experience. The internet is still the internet, no matter which window you use to view it. That said, you should keep an eye on Firefox Quantum — there’s awesome stuff happening at Mozilla.

You’ll be able to grab the full version of Firefox Quantum for free over at the official website on November 14, or you can join the beta program and test it out for yourself today.

One of the original Sputnik-1 prototypes sells for nearly $850k

Why it matters to you

1958 launch of Sputnik-1 represented a turning point in the Soviet Union’s Cold War with the U.S.

One of the few surviving Soviet Sputniks created during Russia’s Cold War space race with the United States sold at auction at Bonhams for $847,500 on Wednesday, September 27. The piece sold was a full-scale vintage test model of the Sputnik-1 satellite, built at the S. P. Korolev Rocket and Space Corporation Energia in 1957, sometime prior to the launch of the Sputnik-1. This model was originally constructed for electromagnetic compatibility and electromagnetic interference testing.

Sputnik-1 was a turning point in the space race. When it launched into Earth’s orbit on October 4, 1957, it was a propaganda exercise designed to showcase Russia’s technological superiority over the U.S. Sputnik-1 was visible around the globe and anyone with a shortwave receiver was able to pick up its signal. What followed was a crisis for the United States, since the successful launch of Sputnik also demonstrated that the Soviets had the technological capabilities to launch a nuclear mission at America.

Ultimately, Sputnik galvanized America’s interest in regaining its lost edge in the space race. On January 31, 1958, the United States launched its first satellite, the Explorer I. Later that year, Congress passed the National Aeronautics and Space Act, which created NASA. A few years later, newly elected President John F. Kennedy pledged to citizens of the U.S. that America would send man to the Moon before the 1960s were out. In other words, this prototype is a pretty darn crucial part of 20th century world history.

Bonhams

The vintage test model was part of the Bonhams auction house’s Air and Space Sale. It comprised the test model of the Sputnik-1 satellite, an aluminum sphere with four spring-mounted external antennae; live transmitter; modern 12 volt power supply; manganese brass stand; and an original Tesla Maj 620A broadcast receiver. Altogether, the satellite and its stand weigh around 100 pounds and stand 78 inches in height.

It was previously a part of a collection belonging to Heinz Miller of Austria. Bonhams did not reveal the identity of the new buyer, other than to tell Digital Trends that it was a telephone bidder. The original estimated asking price for the lot was $100,000 to $150,000. A similar Sputnik replica sold by Bonhams for $269,000 in 2016.

Other highlights of the auction included $50,000 for a Neil Armstrong Apollo-era training glove, $25,000 for a Soviet LK-3 Lunar Lander model, and $25,000 for a Russian KHOLOD 5D67 HFL rocket engine.

Google and Snapchat team up to host the #MyFutureMe contest

Why it matters to you

Convincing kids to code might not be so hard if Snapchat is involved.

The best way to interest teenagers in coding? By making coding applicable to where teenagers are spending their time — in Snapchat. On Wednesday, September 27, Snap, the parent company of the wildly popular social media app, teamed up with Google to host the #MyFutureMe contest, which will give one lucky teen the opportunity to see his or her creation as an official Snap lens.

The initiative comes as part of Google’s Made With Code program, which attempts to integrate pop culture into computer science, with youth-friendly initiatives like the Wonder Woman experience. The idea here is to harness the power of sequences to help Diana of Themyscira in her training, teaching younger audiences how to code with relevant incentives. And while the #MyFutureMe is less of a tutorial than it is a contest, there is still plenty of learning to be done.

“First, complete a coding activity to build a Snapchat Geofilter that expresses your vision for the future,” Google instructs on its official page. “Then write a statement about the future you envision and how you plan to achieve it. Submit both to the #MyFutureMe Challenge for a chance to build your own live Snapchat lens and more!”

The top five entrants will win a trip to the TEDWomen conference in November, where they will work alongside Google and Snap engineers to create real lenses for Snapchat. The winner will see his or her lens go live across the nation.

In order to enter, you must be between 13 and 18 years old, and be a resident of the U.S. If you meet all those requirements, simply visit madewithcode.com to access the mobile-first Blockly experience and create a geofilter. Your work will be judged by none other than Snap CEO Evan Spiegel, though he pales in comparison to the impressive list of women who will also be determining the winners — they include Malala Yousafzai, the famous activist; Yvonne Cagle, the astronaut; and Ruth Porat, the chief financial officer of Alphabet and Google. “Our judges come from many walks of life, but they all have one thing in common: they believe in empowering teens to build a brighter future,” Google noted.

So if you’re looking to share your vision with the world, you might start by submitting a Snapchat lens.